NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
STATE LEGISLATIVE BUILDING
16 W. Jones Street
Raleigh, North Carolina 27601-1030

December 18, 2019

Michael S. Regan
N.C. Department of Environmental Quality
1601 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1601
Re: MVP Southgate: 401 Certification Application of Mountain Valley Pipeline,
LLC
Dear Secretary Regan:
As members of the North Carolina General Assembly, we respectfully ask the North
Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to devote careful scrutiny to the pending Clean
Water Act Section 401 water quality certification application for the proposed construction of the
Southgate Project. Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC (“MVP”) has proposed extending its 303mile fracked gas pipeline into central North Carolina, which would impact over 950 acres and
hundreds of streams, rivers, and wetlands. DEQ bears an important responsibility towards the
citizens of the states to protect the health of our communities and our waters. As the agency
responsible for reviewing and approving applications for Clean Water Act water quality
certifications, DEQ must ensure that this pipeline has no practical alternatives, and that it will not
degrade our waters. Moreover, DEQ must consider its obligation to address climate change
under Governor Cooper’s Executive Order 80. We urge DEQ to find that MVP’s Southgate
Project has practical alternatives; that it would impermissibly harm our rivers, streams, and
wetlands; and deny MVP’s current application.
DEQ has stated that MVP’s Southgate Project would create an excess supply of natural
gas and questioned whether or not the pipeline is in the best interest of North Carolinians. The
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has failed to do a robust analysis of whether the pipeline
is needed for energy reliability within the state. And MVP has devastated rivers and streams in
Virginia while constructing the mainline section of this pipeline—such that the state was forced
to file a lawsuit against the company for its violations of the Clean Water Act and state laws.
MVP’s proposed Southgate Project now prepares to cause the same devastation in North
Carolina. It would cause tremendous sedimentation and erosion in streams, rivers, and wetlands
and destroy habitats for federally and state-protected wildlife. Although there are less harmful
alternatives that do not involve trenching through our waters, MVP has failed to take a hard look
at those alternatives for hundreds of crossings, instead selecting cheaper and more destructive
construction methods. Beyond water quality impacts, construction of a pipeline that is not

 needed directly contradicts Executive Order 80, which has set out the goal to reduce statewide
greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. The pipeline would only
further our state’s growing dependence on natural gas, when those resources could be invested in
cleaner sources of energy like solar that are already delivering much-needed jobs and tax
revenues to our rural counties.
In light of these facts, we do not believe that granting MVP’s application is
appropriate. At a minimum, DEQ must request MVP to conduct a robust analysis of alternatives,
including non-gas energy alternatives, such as wind and solar. In the event that certification is
granted, DEQ must require the company to fund rigorous third-party monitoring of construction
and operation of the project—as is now required in Virginia.
Sincerely,
Sen. Jay Chaudhuri
Sen. Valerie Foushee
Sen. Natasha R. Marcus
Sen. Mujtaba A. Mohammed
Sen. Wiley Nickel
Sen. Harper Peterson
Sen. Gladys A. Robinson
Sen. Terry Van Duyn
Sen. Mike Woodard
Rep. John Autry
Rep. Cynthia Ball
Rep. Mary Belk
Rep. MaryAnn Black
Rep. Deb Butler
Rep. Becky Carney
Rep. Christy Clark
Rep. Ashton Clemmons
Rep. Allison A. Dahle
Rep. Terence Everitt

Rep. Susan C. Fisher
Rep. Rosa U. Gill
Rep. Pricey Harrison
Rep. Zack Hawkins
Rep. Yvonne Lewis Holley
Rep. Rachel Hunt
Rep. Howard J. Hunter
Rep. Verla Insko
Rep. Carolyn G. Logan
Rep. Nasif Majeed
Rep. Grier Martin
Rep. Graig Meyer
Rep. Marcia Morey
Rep. Garland Pierce
Rep. Robert T. Reives
Rep. Billy Richardson
Rep. Raymond Smith
Rep. Julie von Haefen